Replacing mechanical CH/ HW timer with digital one

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artoale

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Hi all!
I'm decent with electric works, but I have absolutely no experience with heaters and how they work. In my flat, I have 2 of these:
http://www.tfc-group.co.uk/assets/graphics/static/Ecosave.pdf
one for CH and one for HW.

Now, not only they're extremely noisy (being in a cupboard in my bedroom), but the CH one seems is not working very well (the timer itself sometimes get stuck and never starts heating).

I'd like to replace them with a digital programmer, but I'm not sure how easy that would be, and if the programmer I'm considering (http://www.alertelectrical.com/prod/3979/grasslin-qeg2-2-channel-electronic-programmers) will be up to the task.
Also, I had a look at the instruction of the latter and it specifies different configuration depending on weather it is a "fully pumped" or "gravity" setup, and tbh - I have no idea. How can I find out? (The heaters are in a small "room" on the roof of the building I leave in, so I suspect it's a "gravity" system, but I don't really know).

Thanks
 
Additional info, just to clarify: I'd like to have a single digital timer, instead of the two mechanical ones I have now :)
 
the fist clock you show is for a immersion heater and if so the programmer you are looking at is not suitable
 
I see, thanks a lot! Can you recommend an alternative (digital) programmer instead?
Cheers
 
Can you tell us what the "heaters" are which provide the CH and HW. Do you only need to control a gas boiler or is there an immersion heater in regular use.
 
As far as I know, there's an immersion heater used for both HW and CH (maybe 2 separate immersion heaters?). I have 2 timers as those shown in the picture in my first post, which are currently set to run 24h/day (HW) and during the night (CH) respectively. This is the setup I found when I moved in the flat and never really bother changing it.
Please let me know how can I provide better information - as said, I'm quite unfamiliar with heating systems.

Sorry if I'm talking rubbish, and thanks for your help!
 
I think it's not, but need to double-check when I get back home. Will update! :)
 
You appear to have an all-electric flat.

The grasslin programmer is not suitable as it cannot carry the high currents involved

Do the radiators have two pipes or a single electric cable connected to them? Post a pic if you're unsure.
 
I'm pretty sure you're right, I have all-electric radiators (I can't see any pipe, they do have a cable connected to them and there are two knobs on them, one for "storing" heat - input - and another for releasing it - output).
Now, what is the heater timer for then? I'm extremely confused
 
Is this for real? Original post states "I'm decent with electrics" but a number of posts down and we are describing an electric storage heater "I can't see any pipe, they do have a cable connected to them and there are two knobs on them...."
No offence, I reckon an electrician may be a reasonable investment here!
 
artoale said:
I'm pretty sure you're right, I have all-electric radiators (I can't see any pipe, they do have a cable connected to them and there are two knobs on them, one for "storing" heat - input - and another for releasing it - output).
Now, what is the heater timer for then? I'm extremely confused
Click to expand...
So you have storage heaters. As the name implies they store heat, which is then released when required. The best time to store the heat is when electricity is cheap, i.e overnight - the "Off Peak" time. The CH timer should be set so the radiators are only heated between the hours of approx 2300 and 0700. (This will depend on your electricity supplier.). There is also a boost button to allow the rads to store heat during the day, if the heat stored overnight run out, but this neds to be used with care as the electricity is three times more expensive.

The water heater works in the same way.
 
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